It's a show that has been around for years- but it is the first day of being brand new as well- as the 2017 edition of the Oklahoma City Farm Show opens up in the Bennett Event Center at State Fair Park in Oklahoma City at 9 AM this morning- the show runs through Saturday afternoon with the majority of the exhibits housed in the new 225,000 square foot building that opened up earlier this year.

Several exhibitors are outside- and the ones that are showing their equipment outside are all located on the south side of the Bennett Center- also relocated from previous shows.

Click here for the interactive floor plan for this year's show- and to get you jump started on folks to stop by and say howdy to- here are the booth locations for our sponsors of the daily email that are a part of this year's show:

Oklahoma Ag Credit  5090

Oklahoma Farm Bureau   6076

Oklahoma National Stockyards- Livestock Exchange  5099

National Livestock Credit   4087

P & K    6057

AFR   5051

Oklahoma Cattlemen   5108


Our Radio Oklahoma Ag Network booth is 3104- come by and register for your chance to win the Priefert Round Pen being used by Scott Daily in his twice a day horse training sessions- we give it away on Saturday afternoon- you don't have to be present to win but you do need to pick it up if you win it by Saturday evening.

I invited Mark Hodges of Plains Grains to visit us in studio this week to discuss the current condition of this year's wheat crop. According to him, in some areas of the state, cutting could potentially begin in just a matter of a few weeks.

"Really, it's a symptom of how this crop developed," Hodges said. "Last fall we got a fairly good stand; got root development; got tillers, but then we didn't get any moisture until about a month ago."

He says a lot can be told about this year's crop just by looking at it, particularly the effects that drought and warm weather has had on it. He believes yield potential this year, though, will be down, but says grazing had as much to do with this as did the weather.

Nonetheless, taking into consideration less planted acres and some concern over stripe rust and wheat streak mosaic, there still remains a good chance for a decent harvest.

"Right now, I'm kind of hoping for an average crop," he remarked. "I think the potential is there depending on what happens from here to harvest."

Hodges will join me for our weekly In the Field segment on KWTV News9 in the Oklahoma City area on Saturday morning at 6:40 a.m. Be sure to catch him talk more on this year's crop then. In the meantime, you can check out the full story on my visit with Hodges or listen to our off-camera interview, by clicking here.

Oklahoma State University's Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources and public libraries in four Oklahoma towns are joining forces to provide broadband access to residents in some of the state's more rural areas.


"This pilot program is something that has never been done in rural Oklahoma and hopefully will allow residents and civic leaders to experience firsthand how broadband access can improve people's quality of life and strengthen local communities," said Brian Whitacre, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension agricultural economist and the program's principal investigator.

Four rural community libraries, including the Elgin Community Library, the Reiger Memorial Library in Haskell, the Thomas-Wilhite Memorial Library in Perkins and the Seminole Public Library, have signed up to partner with DASNR on this project with the hopes of showing local residents the better quality of life having a broadband connection offers. They plan to ask residents for their feedback once the program begins.

Citizens will have the opportunity to check out one of four mobile hotspot devices assigned to each library. The pilot program will run through April 2018 and is being supported by Mobile Beacon, an organization focused on providing broadband to nonprofit entities across the nation.


Whitacre hopes this pilot program will lead to more libraries across the state embracing the idea of providing mobile hotspots and beginning lending programs of their own.


Read the full article and learn more about how this program through will help rural Oklahomans, by clicking here.

It's not your grandfather's business anymore. The beef industry has evolved dramatically from what it was, even just 20 years ago, and it's likely to continue evolving. Dr. Clay Mathis of the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management says with all the technology available today, producers are able to breed the highest performing cattle ever to make the best possible product for consumers. He tells me that these new technological capabilities, are a real game changer for the industry.


"A manager's challenge is, 'How do I look at all the technologies available that are in front of me; figure out what I can utilize; and have a positive return on investment?' and implement that," he said. "That means we're going to have to spend a lot of time really digging into these technologies when we use them."


In addition to incorporating the right technologies into your operation, he says it is vitally important to manage all your costs and expenditures as tightly as possible, too. Keep in mind, though, no two ranches are the same and neither are the goals of each individual rancher.


"When you put all those pieces together, that's where we get the highest efficiency and the most profit," Mathis concluded. "But there is no silver bullet. There is a different solution for every single ranch, and we can't forget that."


Listen to Dr. Mathis talk about understanding the technology available today and how to use it to maximize your profits on the ranch with me, on yesterday's Beef Buzz - click here.

Yesterday, we featured Sarah Haven of the Cheyenne FFA Chapter, representing Oklahoma FFA as its Southwest District Star in Agribusiness in our Blue-Green Gazette. With a business that began in partnership with her brothers, is now Sarah's alone, providing her community with a convenient way to purchase feed for their livestock.


"I own SBJ Feeds, which is a feed store in Cheyenne, Oklahoma," she began.


As a high school student, obviously, Haven cannot tend the store at all times. But that doesn't stop her from successfully running the business. Haven set up the business to allow customers to serve themselves in her absence. She provides her customers with an electronic key fob that allows them access to the feed. They then help themselves to whatever they need and record in a ledger what they took and how much. Once a week, Haven enters these transactions into her computer using Quickbooks, and uses that program to bill and keep track of her accounts receivable.


Haven has had to work with her customers to understand their needs and keep stock of the feeds they rely on her to provide.


"I order inventory about once a week and keep in stock what people are buying," she said, listing off the show feed and supplement products she carries. "We try to keep our community happy, so we carry a variety of feeds."


Click or tap here to read more- and to have a chance to listen to our visit with Sarah during the judging of the State Stars a couple of weeks ago.

Our salute of the 2017 District Stars of the Oklahoma FFA is brought to you by American Farmers & Ranchers, proud to support Oklahoma's youth. Visit the AFR website by clicking or tapping here to learn more on how AFR supports the young people of Oklahoma, and how AFR can provide you with quality insurance for your home, auto, farm, and life.

Dairy Farmers of America were joined yesterday by the Walmart corporation, during the retailer's Sustainability Milestone Summit, to announce a new platform called, Project Gigaton. Aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from dairy operations and supply chains by the year 2030, a network of suppliers, companies and non-governmental organizations will submit goals and plans to eliminate one gigaton of emissions. That's the equivalent of taking more than 211 million passengers vehicles off of U.S. roads and highways for a year.

"We are excited to work with Walmart toward its sustainability goals, and are aligned with its vision," said David Darr, president of farm services at DFA. "Our farmer members have a strong track record of progress and stewardship and are committed to producing safe, quality and wholesome dairy products through integrity-based, sustainable practices. We have a moral obligation to feed the world in a sustainable manner and look forward to continuing the journey as technology evolves in this area."

DFA and other participating companies are being provided with an emission reduction toolkit designed to provide guidance on implementing effective enterprise strategies in addressing sustainability challenges and underscores the business benefits in reducing emissions. Businesses that commit to annually cutting their carbon emissions can collectively reap as much as $190 billion in savings from reduced energy bills, increased productivity and other associated gains.

Get the full story on our website with more information on how DFA plans to carry out this mission to reduce their environmental footprint, by clicking here.

 
Gary McManus would have a cooler way of saying this- and he may do so later this morning in a update for his Mesonet Ticker- but we have more drought busting rains headed for Oklahoma tonight into Friday- Jed Castles of News9 says it will be a bunch(as long as you don't count Altus, Hobart and Lawton and surrounding areas):



Alan Crone with the News on 6 is blogging about the storms- if you prefer a detailed explanation to a single graphic- Alan writes "A flood watch is underway for a large portion of central and northeastern Oklahoma from Thursday night through Friday evening.   This means the possibility of heavy rainfall that may lead to some flash flooding issues in some locations along with run-off that could lead to some stream-creek-river issues for a few locations.   Model solutions support from 2 to near 5 inches of rainfall across the watch area before the system exits early Saturday morning."

Read his entire outlook right into the weekend- which will be cooler- by clicking or tapping here.